Senior Strategy Manager

Cancer Research UK (CRUK); Stratford-upon-Avon; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Cancer Research UK is seeking an experienced Senior Strategy Manager to establish and shape a new strategy capability within the Policy, Information & Communications (PIC) directorate. You will identify strategic opportunities across health and science, prioritise resources, and provide evidence-based recommendations to support decisions.

Working closely with the PIC Executive Director and Senior Leadership Team, you will build partnerships across PIC and beyond, conduct horizon scanning, and

Qualifications

• Experience leading strategy projects in a large organisation.
• Experience establishing new capabilities or ways of working.
• Collaborative and independent thinker with strong communication and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver strategic projects supporting PIC priorities from scoping to recommendations and handover.
• Establish a PIC strategy capability and build credibility with teams across PIC.
• Build trusted relationships and work with PIC and wider organisation to align priorities.
• Conduct horizon scanning across health, science and R&D to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Produce high-quality analysis, presentations and recommendations for Executive Directors and Senior Leadership Teams.
• Contribute to PIC's Strategic Advisory Group with external expertise.

Skills

Strategy leadership

Capability building

Stakeholder management

Communication & influencing

Horizon scanning

Analytical skills

Health policy knowledge

Job description

Salary: £55,000 - £60,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Strategic Delivery Lead - PIC

Directorate: Policy, Information & Communications (PIC)

Contract: Permanent, Full Time

Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, Highflex. Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Closing date: 16 November 2026

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.

Recruitment Process: Two-stage interview process, including a presentation exercise.

Interview Dates: W/C 23rd & 30th November 2026.

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We're looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Senior Strategy Manager to be the first dedicated strategy role in our Policy, Information & Communications (PIC) directorate. You'll help establish and shape a new strategy capability within the directorate, with a clear aim: to identify the most important strategic opportunities across health and science, improve how we prioritise, and focus our resources where we can have the greatest impact for people affected by cancer. Working closely with, and directly for, the PIC Executive Director, and with the Senior Leadership Team, you'll provide insight, foresight and evidence-based recommendations that support strategic decision-making.

This is a role for someone who enjoys working with lots of different people. You'll build strong partnerships with colleagues across PIC and beyond, including Research & Innovation, so that strategy is shaped with the teams.

What will I be doing?

• Lead and deliver strategic projects supporting PIC priorities, from initial scoping through to recommendations and handover to delivery teams, leading flexible teams and external consultants where needed.
• Establish a PIC strategy capability, building the relationships, ways of working and credibility with teams across PIC that will help it succeed, make the case for additional capacity and, if that goes ahead, line manage a Strategy Manager.
• Build trusted working relationships across PIC and the wider organisation, bringing people together around shared priorities, even when views differ.
• Conduct horizon scanning across the health, science and R&D landscape, bringing in external insight from policy developments, market trends, partners, stakeholders and people affected by cancer, to identify emerging trends, risks and opportunities.
• Produce high-quality analysis, presentations and recommendations for Executive Directors and Senior Leadership Teams.
• Contribute to PIC's Strategic Advisory Group, which brings in external expertise to inform our strategic thinking.

What are we looking for?

• Significant experience leading and delivering strategy projects or programmes in a large, complex organisation, getting work done by influencing and coordinating colleagues across several teams, including people more senior than you, rather than relying on formal authority.
• Experience of setting up new ways of working, or establishing a new capability, in an organisation.
• A collaborative and independent thinker who is approachable and builds trust quickly, listens well, and can challenge constructively and handle disagreement with confidence and sensitivity, while still driving strategic outcomes.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills.
• Proven horizon scanning, foresight and strategic insight capabilities.
• Strong analytical skills with qualitative and quantitative research expertise.
• Knowledge of the health sector, science policy environment, research sector and/or wider R&D landscape.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen.

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.